After an impressive match against Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka is heading to another showdown with that other Swiss player, Roger Federer.

Wawrinka topped Theim 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(7-2) to continue towards what could be just Stan’s second ATP Masters 1000 title. Ironically, Wawrinka’s lone Masters 1000 title came when he defeated Roger Federer at Monte Carlo in 2014.

In a surprising move, Nick Kyrgios withdrew from his meeting with Federer. Kyrgios is citing food poisoning is stopping him from continuing. Federer now waits for the winner of the Jack Sock/Kei Nishikori pairing. Wawrinka next meets Pablo Carreno Busta who is in his first Masters 1000 semi-final.

Federer’s new backhand has been drawing raves after his easy win over Rafael Nadal. A Swiss final against Wawrinka, who has one of the best backhands in tennis, would be a good comparison to measure the development of Federer’s backhand.

The head to head

Roger leads Stan 19-3 in head to head match (9-0 on hard courts).